Pressure Drag of Obstacles in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer
- 1 June 1990
- journal article
- Published by American Meteorological Society in Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology
- Vol. 29 (6) , 461-476
- https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1990)029<0461:pdooit>2.0.co;2
Abstract
Pressure drag of obstacles in the atmospheric boundary layer is computed with a mesoscale numerical model of the troposphere. Different parts of the drag can be separated from the numerical results: total pressure drag is determined from the surface pressure distribution, hydrostatic drag from the temperature distribution in the atmosphere, and form drag as a residual. The dependence of the different parts of the drag on the main influencing parameters, such as geometric parameters, dynamical and thermal parameters, and the surface roughness, is given. The influencing parameters are deduced from a scale analysis of the equation of motion. Wave drag due to gravity waves and flow separation will not be considered in this paper. The study shows among other points that there is a surface Rossby number similarity for form drag on smooth obstacles, that there may be wave drag due to inertial waves even for neutral or unstable stratification due to inertial waves, and that there is Reynolds number simil... Abstract Pressure drag of obstacles in the atmospheric boundary layer is computed with a mesoscale numerical model of the troposphere. Different parts of the drag can be separated from the numerical results: total pressure drag is determined from the surface pressure distribution, hydrostatic drag from the temperature distribution in the atmosphere, and form drag as a residual. The dependence of the different parts of the drag on the main influencing parameters, such as geometric parameters, dynamical and thermal parameters, and the surface roughness, is given. The influencing parameters are deduced from a scale analysis of the equation of motion. Wave drag due to gravity waves and flow separation will not be considered in this paper. The study shows among other points that there is a surface Rossby number similarity for form drag on smooth obstacles, that there may be wave drag due to inertial waves even for neutral or unstable stratification due to inertial waves, and that there is Reynolds number simil...Keywords
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